As a reminder, the O’Neal Library building is closed to begin
a major interior renovation, but we will be opening a temporary location on
Monday, June 1st across the street at Mountain Brook City Hall! More information here: https://oneallibrary.org/temporary-location
The next Books & Beyond (BAB) meeting will be Tuesday,
June 30th at 6:30pm at the Levite Jewish Community Center (LJCC). Thanks so much to the J for hosting us!! You
will need your ID/driver’s license to sign in at their front desk if you plan to
join us 😊Take
note that Books & Beyond will continue to meet at the LJCC for the duration
of renovation.
Last night, BAB met at La Paz restaurant to discuss
paleontology!
EXPERIENCES
Melbourne Museum exhibition, Triceratops: Fate of theDinosaurs
Triceratops: Fate of the Dinosaurs is an
immersive voyage into a lost world, where visitors will explore the landscapes
of the Cretaceous and get to know the creatures that thrived there. Don't miss
your chance to meet the most complete real dinosaur in Australia, Horridus
the Triceratops, only at Melbourne Museum.
Danger Semiotics/long-term nuclear waste warning messages
“The mind-bending challenge of warning future humans about nuclear waste”
(Scientific American November 17, 2025
"If built properly, NWMO’s deep geological repository will outlast governments, economies and the very languages that name it. It will join a global lineage of reverse arks: monuments to societies that dared to think beyond themselves. If the facility is someday uncovered by a far-future archaeologist, its depth, placement and engineered barriers could reveal what our civilization judged to be dangerous, how we calculated risk and how we imagined future humans would think, live and interpret signs."
“For those encountering the Star Map for the first time: it’s the terrazzo floor at the base of Hansen’s massive Winged Figures of the Republic bronze statues on the Nevada side of Hoover Dam, in the area known as Monument Plaza. Oskar Hansen designed the terrazzo as a celestial map, a 26,000-year astronomical “clock” that tracks the “precession of the equinoxes,” the fascinating astronomical and astrological fact that because of the subtle tilt and wobble of the Earth’s axis, over the course of every 2,166 years the position of the Zodiac constellations in the sky shift one at a time in a full circle, creating each “Zodiacal Age” (ie, the Age of Pisces or the Age of Aquarius). Using the complex mapping of this 26,000-year star cycle, and a precise placement of its stars and planets, Oskar Hansen designed a perpetual “clock” that could be used for thousands of years to pinpoint the exact moment President Franklin Delano Roosevelt dedicated the Hoover Dam on September 30, 1935.”
Voyager missions’ Golden Records
“Pioneers 10 and 11, which preceded Voyager, both carried small metal plaques identifying their time and place of origin for the benefit of any other spacefarers that might find them in the distant future. With this example before them, NASA placed a more ambitious message aboard Voyager 1 and 2, a kind of time capsule, intended to communicate a story of our world to extraterrestrials. The Voyager message is carried by a phonograph record, a 12-inch gold-plated copper disk containing sounds and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth.”
Jobs you may not have known existed - Paleontological Monitors
They work to make sure that paleontological resources are
protected in compliance with the Paleontological Preservation Act (PRPA) and also
follow the impact mitigation guidelines set by the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.
As described by Eocene Environmental
Group:
“We work to make sure paleontological resources are protected in compliance with the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act. Our paleontologists are practiced at identifying fossils to taxon and element, assessing their scientific significance, recording site geology and sedimentology, and developing mitigation measures to protect paleontological resources.
We have experience coordinating with agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Forest Service, Department of Transportation, and state agencies to ensure that projects do not have adverse impacts to paleontological resources.”
ON SCREEN
The Farthest: Voyager in Space
This PBS documentary tells the captivating tales of the people and events behind one of humanity’s greatest achievements in exploration: NASA’s Voyager mission, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in August 2017. The twin spacecraft—each with less computing power than a cell phone—used slingshot trajectories to visit Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. They sent back unprecedented images and data that revolutionized our understanding of the spectacular outer planets and their many peculiar moons.
Still going strong four decades after launch, each
spacecraft carries an iconic golden record with greetings, music and images
from Earth—a gift for any aliens that might one day find it. Voyager 1, which
left our solar system and ushered humanity into the interstellar age in 2012,
is the farthest-flung object humans have ever created. A billion years from
now, when our sun has flamed out and burned Earth to a cinder, the Voyagers and
their golden records will still be sailing on—perhaps the only remaining evidence
that humanity ever existed
PODCASTS
A podcast for all ancient history fans! The Ancients is
dedicated to discussing our distant past. Featuring interviews with historians
and archaeologists, each episode covers a specific theme from antiquity. From
Neolithic Britain to the Fall of Rome. Hosted by Tristan Hughes.
ADULT NONFICTION
Annals of the Former World books by John McPhee
Basin and Range
The first of John McPhee's works in his series on geology and geologists, Basin
and Range is a book of journeys through ancient terrains, always in
juxtaposition with travels in the modern world―a history of vanished
landscapes, enhanced by the histories of people who bring them to light.
In Suspect Terrain
In Suspect Terrain is a narrative of the earth, told in four
sections of equal length, each in a different way reflecting the three others―a
biography; a set piece about a fragment of Appalachian landscape in
illuminating counterpoint to the human history there; a modern collision of
ideas about the origins of the mountain range; and, in contrast, a century-old
collision of ideas about the existence of the Ice Age.
Rising from the Plains (not available in the JCLC, access via WorldCat)
Rising from the Plains continues to present a cross section of
North America along the fortieth parallel.
Assembling California
At various times in a span of fifteen years, John McPhee made geological field
surveys in the company of Eldridge Moores, a tectonicist at the University of
California at Davis. The result of these trips is Assembling California, a
cross-section in human and geologic time, from Donner Pass in the Sierra Nevada
through the golden foothills of the Mother Lode and across the Great Central
Valley to the wine country of the Coast Ranges, the rock of San Francisco, and
the San Andreas family of faults.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
In Sapiens, Professor Yuval Noah Harari spans
the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the earth to the
radical—and sometimes devastating—breakthroughs of the Cognitive, Agricultural,
and Scientific Revolutions. Drawing on insights from biology, anthropology,
paleontology, and economics, and incorporating full-color illustrations
throughout the text, he explores the origin of our species and how the currents
of history have shaped our human societies, the animals and plants around us,
and even our personalities.
Dinosaurs at the Dinner Party: How an Eccentric Group ofVictorians Discovered Prehistoric Creatures and Accidentally Upended the World
by Edward Dolnick
“Exuberant” (Kirkus Reviews), entertaining, erudite,
and featuring an unconventional cast of characters, Dinosaurs at the
Dinner Party tells the story of how the accidental discovery of
prehistoric creatures upended humanity’s understanding of the world and its own
place within it.
A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth by Henry Gee
In A (Very) Short History of Life on Earth,
Henry Gee zips through the last 4.6 billion years with infectious enthusiasm
and intellectual rigor. Drawing on the very latest scientific understanding and
writing in a clear, accessible style, he tells an enlightening tale of survival
and persistence that illuminates the delicate balance within which life has
always existed.
Divine Magnet: Herman Melville’s Letters to Nathaniel
Hawthorne edited by Mark Niemeyer (not available in the JCLC, access via WorldCat)
These letters are full of passion, humor, doubt, and
spiritual yearning, and offer an intimate view of Melville's personality.
Lyrical and effusive, they are literary works in themselves.
The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
The World Without Us is a penetrating,
page-turning tour of a post-human Earth. Drawing on the expertise of engineers,
atmospheric scientists, art conservators, zoologists, oil refiners, marine
biologists, astrophysicists, religious leaders from rabbis to the Dalai Lama,
and paleontologists, Alan Weisman deftly illustrates what the planet might be
like today, if not for us.
ADULT FICTION
Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
Alongside his nephew, Axel, Professor Lidenbrock finds a
secret message hidden in one of the runic notes of a newly acquired manuscript
from Iceland. Once deciphered, the message reveals that a volcano was
discovered, which acted as a passage to the center of the Earth. Determined to
discover this phenomenon for himself, Lidenbrock, Axel, and their guide, Hans,
set off on an adventure full of surprises, which include a deep ocean, giant
mushrooms, and lightening-filled gas that lights up the unknown world. The trio
encounters numerous pre-historic animals, including dinosaurs and other
gigantic beasts. They build a raft out of tree limbs and travel far and wide.
They become separated, and must rely on the unique way sound is carried
underground in order to communicate and reunite. Although they do eventually
escape from their adventure, the imaginative and awe-inspiring world inside the
Earth will never be forgotten.
Taunt by Eve Dangerfield (not available in the JCLC or via WorldCat)
Daniel Schwartz is a free-spirited, independent woman living
her life however she pleases. Until she accidentally uncovers the world is
about to end. Now the eco-terrorist is imprisoned by a shadowy organization
trying to make her talk. Locked in a
beachside mansion, the only upside Daniel can see to imprisonment is that the
private security guards hired to keep her under constant surveillance are all
incredibly sexy...As each man becomes increasingly drawn to the weird,
pop-obsessed Daniel, she is equally drawn to them. How is a girl supposed to
choose between three gorgeous, ex-paramilitary men? And does she even really
want to escape this ménage à quatre? A Reverse Harem, Why Choose, ménage, Bodyguard
romance with three Alpha Heroes and one independent woman.
The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas
A haunted paleontologist returns to the museum where his
sister was abducted years earlier and is faced with a terrifying and murderous
spirit in this chilling novel.
Extinction by Douglas Preston
(Haha! For those who were there: I totally misremembered a
lot of the plot of this last night, sorry!)
Erebus Resort, occupying a magnificent, hundred-thousand acre valley deep in
the Colorado Rockies, offers guests the experience of viewing woolly mammoths,
Irish Elk, and giant ground sloths in their native habitat, brought back from
extinction through the magic of genetic manipulation. When a billionaire's son
and his new wife are kidnapped and murdered in the Erebus back country by what
is assumed to be a gang of eco-terrorists, Colorado Bureau of Investigation
Agent Frances Cash partners with county sheriff James Colcord to track down the
perpetrators.
Eruption by James Patterson & Michael Crichton
As the Big Island of Hawai'i faces an eruption of
unprecedented intensity, the U.S. military contends with the consequences of a
long-held doomsday secret. Eruption is the passion project Michael
Crichton, creator of Jurassic Park, ER, Twister,
and Westworld, had been pursuing for years ahead of his untimely
passing in 2008. After discovering his notes and the partial manuscript, his
wife, Sherri Crichton, searched for more than a decade until she found the
perfect partner: James Patterson
YOUTH FICTION
West of the Sea by Stephanie Willing (Reading age: 8-12 years)
Paleontology-loving Haven West and her older sister, Margie,
have hardly talked with their mom since she retreated into a deep depression.
Each morning Haven wonders if it’s going to be a “good” or “bad” day, and the
only thing that seems to occupy her mom is collecting fossils for her bone
garden.
But one night, after an ominous moonlight heart-to-heart,
her mom disappears—right before Haven discovers she’s inherited a monstrous
family trait. It turns out that she is the latest in a long line of cryptids, a
past her mom has been hiding. Suddenly, the Texas terrain is full of ghostly
dinosaur silhouettes and Haven is breaking out in scales at all the wrong
moments. Even worse, she doesn’t know whom she can trust with this information.
Since the only person who could guide her through this has vanished, Haven sets
off on the road trip of a lifetime with Margie and their new friend Rye in tow.
Together, they’re determined to find her mom and finally get some answers,
hopefully before Haven’s secret is revealed . . .
Emperor Mage by Tamora Pierce (Reading age: 12 years and up)
When Daine is sent to Carthak as part of a Tortallan peace
delegation, she finds herself in the middle of a sticky political situation.
She doesn’t like the Carthaki practice of keeping slaves, but it’s not her
place to say anything—she’s only there to heal the emperor’s birds. Her worries
only expand once she learns that her own power has grown in a dark and
mysterious way.
As the peace talks stall, Daine puzzles over Carthak’s
two-faced Emperor Ozorne. How can he be so caring with his birds, and so cruel
to his people? Daine is sure he’s planning something—a terrible, power-hungry
scheme. And she knows that she must fight this powerful Emperor Mage; the life
of her beloved teacher is at risk.
Item descriptions pulled from Amazon, PBS, NASA, et al.
Photo by Jordyn St. John on Unsplash
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